N.J. governor's race has implications

The year just passed was full of political intrigue, but 2013 promises to be equally thought-provoking with a major difference - most of it will be centered around New Jersey and Virginia, the only states that elect governors this year. There are almost no federal elections, but the two governor's races have national implications.

Since 1977, the nominee from the party that lost the presidency the previous year has always won the Virginia's governor's race. That would give the nod to a Republican, supposedly. Despite the odds, former national Democratic Party chief Terry McAuliffe is in the game. This might be of little note outside the Old Dominion except that McAuliffe has strong active support from his old pals, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This could be a rehearsal and shakedown cruise for a 2016 presidential race for Mrs. Clinton.

The Republican getting all the attention in Virginia is its attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, a Tea Party favorite who sued the Environmental Protection Agency over a plan to regulate greenhouse gases and argued Virginia can regulate first trimester abortion clinics.

"For all the criticism of me, there's one thing you won't hear anybody say, and that's that I've pulled the wool over anyone's eyes," Cuccinelli said. "One of my unique features as a politician is that I am so blunt and so forthright, and I put my cards on the table to such a degree people aren't used to that there's nothing left to hide."

That may be true, but when it comes to a reputation of bluntness nobody beats Gov. Chris Christie, who announced his plans to seek re-election and is doing well in the fund-raising part of it. His campaign announced it had raised more than $2.1 million since Nov. 26, when he said he would be seeking another term.

"Gov. Christie's campaign continues to gain momentum because New Jerseyans believe in his decisive leadership," said campaign strategist Mike DuHaime. "This unprecedented financial support in such a short time demonstrates the overwhelming support from residents across the Garden State."

He also is good at getting widespread attention. Few reading this probably ever heard of Virginia's Cuccinelli. But there are people in all 50 states who know, and in many cases love, Christie. At first nationally he was known for YouTube videos of taking on journalists or hecklers at town hall meetings or, in one case, a dude on a bicycle on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

In New Jersey we saw the other side, the pragmatic, intelligent Christie who teamed with a Democrat, Senate President Steve Sweeney, to get started on needed pension and health benefits reforms that are long overdue. He surrounded himself with capable people, many of whom worked for him elsewhere. Any of them will tell you he is very much the man in charge.

It was an act of God called superstorm Sandy that demonstrated it best to the state and the nation. He was seen all over the damaged Shore areas giving orders, issuing updates on outages and shortages, and answering questions from the media with his typical humor, and sometimes sarcasm even - literally - in the face of disaster. But he also took time to hug and reassure people whose lives were in shambles. Those photos are burned into the national memory.

The personal warmth and the bipartisan parts of his personality came together when President Barack Obama not only flew to New Jersey but offered to put the resources of the federal government at Christie's disposal. What did the governor do? What any of us would have done: he hugged the president.

That such an action could have been criticized much less used as an excuse for Mitt Romney's loss of the presidency serves to point out how far politics has sunk. When House Speaker John Boehner didn't post a Sandy relief bill after assurances he would, Boehner, a Republican, found out that Christie, like the Incredible Hulk character, can be unlikeable when he's angry at you. But America loved hearing the governor say what it too thinks about Congress and its dysfunction, which has brought it to new lows in credibility.

There is lots of buzz about whether Christie will be a candidate for the 2016 race for the White House just as there is for Hillary Clinton. The two governor's races this year may offer a peek at the future of national politics and are being watched closely for clues as to what we may have in store.

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N.J. governor's race has implications

The year just passed was full of political intrigue, but 2013 promises to be equally thought-provoking with a major difference ? most of it will be centered around New Jersey and Virginia, the only

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